There Is No Gun Show Loophole, No Matter What Shannon Watts Says

mikeyp

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I know, we know, but good read to share to the ignorant

There Is No Gun Show Loophole, No Matter What Shannon Watts Says - The Truth About Guns

No matter what red t-shirt-wearing moms and flailing presidential candidates may say, the gun show loophole is virtually non-existent.

There is no gun show loophole when it comes to background checks for gun purchases. The law clearly states that if you purchase a firearm from a person with an FFL, a background check must occur. If you purchase a gun from a private seller, you don’t need a background check. These same two principles apply whether you’re at a gun show or not.

So if you purchase a firearm from a gun seller with an FFL at a gun show, you will need to complete Form 4473 and have a background check. Under federal law, if you purchase a gun from a private seller at a gun show, you don’t need to have a background check. Your state laws may differ.

In a report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, only 0.7 percent of convicted criminals purchased their firearms at gun shows.

Of the average 4,000 gun shows in the U.S. each year, it’s estimated that 50 to 75 percent of vendors have an FFL, and therefore require purchasers of firearms to complete background checks. But that doesn’t mean that 25 to 50 percent of vendors are private sellers of firearms—many of these are vendors that sell gun paraphernalia. Gun shows are filled with vendors who sell everything from t-shirts and ball caps to holsters and concealed carry gear, and it’s these sellers that make up the majority of the remaining non-licensed vendors.

Are there private gun sellers at gun shows? Absolutely. But the idea that criminals are flocking to gun shows to illegally purchase firearms is untrue. In a report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, only 0.7 percent of convicted criminals purchased their firearms at gun shows.

– Foundation for Economic Education in The History of Gun Background Checks
 
In most of the shows in PA, the sponsor/organizer required any transfers undergo a NICS check.
 
You're right there is no loophole. When the Federal NICS checks started in what, 1998, face-to-face sales were specifically exempted. It wasn't an "oversight" that left a loophole allowing face-to-face sales. It was part of the legislative intent, and imho, if the carve-out for private sales wasn't included in the bill, they never would have gotten any of it passed.

From the wiki:

Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act - Wikipedia

"Firearm transfers by unlicensed private sellers that are "not engaged in the business" of dealing firearms are not subject to the Brady Act, but may be covered under other federal, state, and local restrictions."

The gun grabbers are now trying to change this, as they *do* see it as a hole in the law which must be filled by more .gov.
 
You're right there is no loophole. When the Federal NICS checks started in what, 1998, face-to-face sales were specifically exempted. It wasn't an "oversight" that left a loophole allowing face-to-face sales. It was part of the legislative intent, and imho, if the carve-out for private sales wasn't included in the bill, they never would have gotten any of it passed.
+1

It was also because they didn't want to risk a challenge asserting that the regulation of in-state personal property transfer between residents of that state was outside the scope of the Commerce Clause. The Commerce Clause has, alas, been expanded even more since then so the blood is smelling fresh to the anti-gun sharks.
 
In MA that is true but in Florida you don't need a license to buy a gun and private parties can sell guns at a gun show, getting a table, to anyone who is not prohibited, rifles and shotguns right away and I think they have a 3 day waiting period on handguns but not sure if it applies to private sales. Private face to face sales - no background checks and no paperwork.

I may be wrong and will hear if I am, but this is what I think is the case
 
Background checks are an infringement to keeping and bearing arms. Period.

If one wants background checks as a prerequisite for a Citizen to Keep and Bear Arms, one needs to execute the Constitutional process for Amending the Constitution.

The Constitution is not ambiguous on either matter.
 
In MA that is true but in Florida you don't need a license to buy a gun and private parties can sell guns at a gun show, getting a table, to anyone who is not prohibited, rifles and shotguns right away and I think they have a 3 day waiting period on handguns but not sure if it applies to private sales. Private face to face sales - no background checks and no paperwork.

I may be wrong and will hear if I am, but this is what I think is the case

Update:

 
In order to transfer a long gun or handgun in MA, the buyer and seller must possess the appropriate license for the sale. That right there is a State, federal and local background check along with a Department of Mental health check.
 

Interesting data - assuming no duplicates, 1.7% of the US population (as of the Aug2019 data) had mental health records submitted to NICS.

The oft-quoted statistic is that 3-4% of persons with “stable mental illness” are violent. And the 7%+ with concealed carry permits exhibit a crime rate >100-fold lower than both of there figures.

So gun laws that only effectively regulate honest, law-abiding citizens are again the least useful...and most counterproductive. Need we anymore proof that it’s about citizen-control than gun-control?
 
In order to transfer a long gun or handgun in MA, the buyer and seller must possess the appropriate license for the sale. That right there is a State, federal and local background check along with a Department of Mental health check.

‘what if it’s an illegal sale? Another law would stop people from selling guns the illegal way. Lol
 
I'm still trying to avoid a certain guy in the crowd in front of a gun show table.

There is always that guy - right in the middle - who lets one loose and makes a quick getaway while the rest of us stew in his stink while trying to ogle Glocks.

He makes such a hasty exit that before the smell rises (heat rises) he is gone faster than a twinky at a weigh watchers meeting.
 
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